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More than 400 microgrid projects are now in operation or in the development pipeline, according to Navigant Research. The market research firm forecasts that the worldwide market for microgrids will exceed $40 billion a year in revenue in seven years' time.

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Car-sharing revenue will grow by $5.4 billion over the next decade from $1.1 billion this year as programs become available in more cities around the world, with membership hitting 23.4 million in 2024, Navigant Research reports. "Car-share services fit squarely into the growing trend of on-demand mobility in urban markets," said analyst Lisa Jerram.

Plug-in electric vehicle owners who participate in frequency regulation or demand-response programs could earn back more of the cost of ownership of their vehicle, says analyst Scott Shepard of Navigant Research. He adds that "plug-in electric vehicles represent an increase in load that could be used to capture renewable electricity generation and help balance generation with demand, theoretically making electricity marginally cheaper and cleaner."

Increased battery technology will provide a boost for sales of electric buses and trucks for commercial use, Navigant Research says. The report notes that electric offerings will hit 160,000 by 2023. Japan is expected to be the largest adopter of commercial electric vehicles with a penetration rate of 21.2% in eight years, the report says.

Latin America's wind farm installations are projected to grow by 100% by 2022, jumping from 2,200 megawatts this year to 4,300 megawatts in nine years' time, according to estimates by Navigant Consulting. "Latin America is expected to account for at least 5.5 percent of the world's new wind-power installations in 2013," said Feng Zhao, director of Navigant's research group.

Allowing the renewable-energy Production Tax Credit to expire at the end of 2012 would slash the number of wind-energy jobs from almost 78,000 to about 41,000 by 2013, according to a study by Navigant Consulting for the American Wind Energy Association. However, extending the PTC through 2016 could create up to 17,000 new jobs, the study showed. "American manufacturing jobs are coming back, with tens of thousands of new jobs from wind power. But these jobs could vanish if Congress allows the Production Tax Credit to expire," said AWEA CEO Denise Bode.